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Quite the Convincing Comic

Jul 22, 2011

In a comment to Daily Scan's post earlier this week on how some researchers are using the ultra-popular Harry Potter series to get students interested in genetics, reader ivan_2 said that "researchers [would] rather go with X-Men instead. … I knew about X-Men way before Harry Potter." Indeed at his blog, Genomic Repairman says he owes a debt to X-Men. "X-Men was the first comic book that I ever laid eyes and hands upon in the old drugstore in town when my dad took me to the counter to get a sandwich and a soda," he writes. After taking interest in the comic book series' dramatic interpretation of genetic mutation, Genomic Repairman says he then took to the encyclopedia:

I found the term mutation, spawning further searches for genetics, DNA, Mendel, and reproduction. But this wasn't enough for me, I made my dad take me to the local library where I was able to get my grubby little hands on a dog-eared copy of James Watson's The Double Helix, which piqued my interest.

He adds, "I'm eternally grateful for my childhood indulgence that [led] me down the path that would eventually make me a scientist."

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